Easter 1937 and Christmas 1937 and 1940 in Glendive, Montana

Pictures from David's Book of Remembrance 

1--These are pictures I do not remember seeing before in my books but the first picture is Easter

on the South Side at the white house on the corner.  This was the third house we lived in in Glendive

and I was probably 4 in spring 1937.

 

Those are huge buttons on our coats.  I assume they came from the Karl Johnson store Dad was 

managing.  But I know I wore a lot of hand me downs.  I wonder if Mom got things from rummage

sales, too.  We all look very nice though you can see scuffed shoes and David's pants are not new.

We did not have a lot of money, that I know.  When I eventually get to go to school, I remember

wearing clothes more than one day in a row and changing after school and hanging up my dress or

blouse and skirt with straps.  Actually those are the only school clothes I remember in first grade. 

 Luckily the store clothes will become a great blessing in our life, especially in high school and college.

These look like small Easter baskets by today's standards.  We would have had our hair rolled up in

rags the night before to make it curl on the end.  We would have been going to the Congregational

Sunday School where Dad sang in the choir.

2-It is winter and we are wearing anklets which is interesting.  I have on a different coat and David just 

has on a sweater.  This is also on the South Side and was probably 1937 because Carole has 

evidently not been born yet and we have our Christmas dolls.  This was the Christmas where Mom 

had us follow strings to find our dolls and David got the Kayo doll.  

I am not sure if it is the same Christmas Marilyn got a tricycle and it seemed the whole living room floor

was full of things.  That Christmas must have been a very good year at the store!  So the bountiful year

with an electric mixing bowl for Mom  and a tricycle may have been 1938 or 39.

We moved to a this house on the North Side Heights the summer of 1940 and we have our Christmas 

dolls so Carole would be 2 and I would be in second grade.   She was born in November of 1938 and I 

turned 6 in January 1939 and went to first grade on the south side at Lincoln School in September.

Dad was able to purchase this house and we had lived in 4 other houses since moving there in 1934.

This house was about a hundred years old I think.   It was remodeled when I was at college.  The man

looks familiar but can't think who he is, salesman or?  We often had missionaries eat with us but why a 

single man?  I usually wore pigtails.

Love Notes from Our Children

A mother is always insecure as to whether she is doing all she can for her family.  These are notes I gathered once from cards, messages and letters from my children.  It is good to read them when you are feeling down about yourself.

😂😊

Never have made it through school without your support

Set a very good example for us

Always doing just the right things in life

You know so much about the Savior's Plan for us

You face life challenges with courage and grace and do it so well

Such an example of work ethic, spirituality, wisdom and beauty

Always been there for us 

I attribute all of the great qualities in Jimmy and your kids to the life you provided for them 

You were always there for me when I needed help

We hope we can be the support for you that you have been for us

Your love and friendship fulfills and enriches our lives

We grow and learn so much from you

Never too troubled with your own problems (no matter how great) always there for us with time, 

           money, or talk, or whatever we need

Patience and unconditional love and understanding that you had with us

Hope I can find a wife who will be as great a mother as you

Raised our family well

Thanks for allowing me the freedom to choose my own destiny

Learned a lot from you and Dad about honest hard work, I hope I'll be able to follow your example

            in omy own pursuits of excellence and success

Spiritual and emotional strength

Tackle life's challenges with finesse

Had and felt love in our home

Help and support--always being there for us

Go extra mile

Time, effort and thought in all you do

Good role model

Wisdom and strength

Faith and Humor

Wise and understanding

Unconditional love and non-judgmental

Loved your children so much

Taught them well

Love and attention

Thanks for always being there--soon it will be my time to be there for you

Always accepting and loving

Given me the confidence to succeed or at least try--I've never been afraid to fail because I know you would love me just the same--You try so hard to keep everyone happy

You raised me well--I won't fail you in the end

Supportive of us, emotionally, spiritually, monetarily--your support has been a blessing in our life

Respect and admiration for you 

You have wonderful children, they reflect your character and love

I notice there is nothing about a clean house, clothes, food, toys, nothing material at all!!!

Glendive Home

Look closely at this picture of Gabby, Eric's wife.  She is eating at the Greenhouse across the street from where I used to live in Glendive.   At the top left of the picture the home in the background is where I lived from second grade until I left for college, Billings, and then San Diego.

The home was around 100 years old or less when we moved in.  It was heavily remodeled while I was at college.  It is being remodeled again I see.  Until we built a separate garage to the right corner of the house, the only garage was a very narrow under the house garage built for a horse and buggy.  There was only one bathroom and that was upstairs with a bathtub.  A bathroom with just a sink and toilet was added downstairs when I was in grade school.  A shower was eventually built in the basement where a bedroom was actually created for the boys, don't remember the dates.  I remember getting dressed for school huddling around the stove at the top of the stairs before remodeling anything.

Mom originally had a wringer washer in the basement where there was also two wind up Victrola's.  One was a tall standing one and the other more compact.  

The house creeked.  Berta Mae and I used to play a game when she would come over to play and no one was home.  We would sit very quietly with no radio,  nothing on at all and just listen.  And we would soon get ourselves so spooked thinking about supposed ghosts and such we would have to run outside.  Berta Mae had a wonderful imagination and we were always playing fun adventures of one kind or another..  But that house had very spooky sounds if you listened.

The greenhouse was a real functioning greehouse with glass houses of plants and outside gardens.  The rhubarb grew on the edge of the road and we ate many of the stalks.  It has been converted into a restaurant and gift house now..

The trees by the house were not very tall when we lived there.